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Recently Facebook announced a new metric, ‘people talking about,’ would be available on the left sidebar of pages below the number of likes. The number shows how many people have interacted with the page by liking it, commenting, or sharing, and it is meant to show how active a page is. We used this number to do an analysis of around 45 life science companies on Facebook, helping us to understand which companies are successfully engaging life scientists, and why they are successful.

Two charts are needed to fully understand the data, and you can also look at the raw data in the Google document. The first chart shows the number of ‘people talking about’ for each page, along with the percent engagement, or this number divided by the total number of ‘likes’ for a page. You can see that Life Technologies holds all five top spots for ‘people talking about’: Invitrogen, Applied BioSystems, Life Technologies, Molecular Probes Handbook Club, and GIBCO Cell Culture. We applaud them for their efforts, and have been tracking their activity, which helps us to understand what the numbers mean. The Invitrogen and Applied BioSystems pages were launched about six months ago, and we noticed growth was slow for months. Recently both pages have shot up in the # of likes, and we are fairly sure this growth is due to advertising. So, since the ‘people talking about’ number includes how many people have liked the pages, these numbers are high for the pages now, and will likely only be sustained with advertising.

We have found that Facebook ‘likes’ can be obtained for about $1 each (contact us to learn more), so by much hand waving you can surmise that LIFE is putting a healthy budget into Facebook advertising, perhaps $10-20K per month.

The numbers in the first chart also speak to great content which the top companies are providing. Engagement will surely go down after the $ is spent if the content does not continue to engage. The chart above is probably biased by the influx of advertising dollars, so we also charted the total number of life science page ‘likes’ below. LIFE has pages that have grown greatly due to the content, the Cell Imaging and Molecular Probes Handbook Pages are excellent examples. This content must be not simply a broadcast of a company’s products, something we’ve discussed before regarding life science companies on Twitter.

How do the companies find the content? We’ve found custom RSS feeds, which pull information about a topic from all over the internet, including news, blogs, and Twitter, to be vital for this tactic, and we can set one up for you.

As a scientist or a former scientist, you may want to know how we can reconcile these two metrics and find the top 10 life science Facebook pages. We tried combining the rankings for both charts, and the result was that the ranking was the same for the top chart. So, unfortunately or fortunately at this time for Facebook, money talks, likely because it is somewhat uncharted territory. There are around 750,000 Facebook users who indicate they have a life science degree (data not shown), so a ‘land grab’ for them will likely be taking place over the next year for those who have the resources and a defined social media strategy. Additionally, companies must think about how to capture the leads from these efforts. Stay tuned, we plan to provide resources for 2012 social media planning soon. Also, check out our own Facebook page, where we keep tabs on life science activity. Here are the top 10 Life Science Facebook Pages for those who like lists:

1. Invitrogen
2. Applied Biosystems
3. Life Technologies
4. Cell Imaging
5. Molecular Probes Handbook Club
6. GIBCO Cell Culture
7. Engaging Epigenetics Experts
8. Promega Corporation
9. New England Biolabs
10. Ion Torrent by Life Technologies

To share this post easily, cut and paste: Life Science Facebook Engagement: Which Companies Are Creating ‘Contagious’ Pages? http://bit.ly/sTb2Uw

One of the questions we get frequently is regarding the popularity of social media for different types of life scientists. While it’s true that some computer-intensive fields such as bioinformatics lend themselves to more social media savviness, we find that many different types of life scientists participate. We performed a Social Media Compass™ Twitter analysis (PDF) on the recent American Chemical Society meeting in Denver and found that chemists are very interested in using new media to communicate.

As we covered in a recent post about life science hashtags, they can be used to track events, and we followed the ACS Fall 2011 meeting using the #acsdenver hashtag. There were more than 2000 Tweets from 466 Twitterers from July 30-September 17th, and with 12,000 in attendance, less than 4% of the attendees Tweeted (with the caveat that some Tweets come from people who weren’t at the conference). This is in the normal range for what we see at life science conferences, and we also seen many researchers in ‘listening’ mode, so more likely participated by watching. Also, the Tweets and links will have an impact on search engine results for months or perhaps even years. Our Social Media Compass Twitter Analysis (PDF) tracks the top Twitterers, links, and hashtags, and gives our analysis of the event. Life scientists and companies can use the report for a top level summary of the meeting, to find online influencers, and to follow up on detailed talks and links shared at the meeting. See more details about our Compass reports here.

The American Chemical Society has been instrumental in the adoption of social media by chemists. The most Tweeted link was the live Ustream coverage (now recorded) of some aspects of the event. The organization of a ‘Tweetup’ where Twitterers can meet informally, as well as the deposition of some of the talks on a Lanyard site also contribute to a more socially open atmosphere, and we commend the meeting for creating it.

Chemists are also realizing the challenges that face their industry, and are using social media, including Twitter conversations, to mobilize and affect change. One issue is the fact that ‘chemical’ seems to have become a dirty word in society, and scientists are trying to combat this with new terms that could be used. Chemist employment is another area of much discussion as the job market has seen better days, and ACS is beginning an initiative to encourage entrepreneurship in the industry. Again, the ACS should be applauded for their efforts, as they’ve also implemented the “International Year of Chemistry” and “National Chemistry Week” (this week) campaigns. Other people and entities are also chiming in with resources and applications, with a ‘sub’ hashtag #CINF being used to share web 2.0 chemical information resources such as PubChem3D. The only brands represented in the top 20 Twitterers (not all data shown) were @ChemistryWorld, @J_A_C_S, and @NatureChemistry, and this represents a major opportunity for chemical providers.

The amount of information shared on Twitter for the ACS meeting shows a willingness by chemists to participate in new media, and the information will become more important as the volume increases. We can provide additional information about this meeting or any life science event listed on our calendar, as well as many other types of topics, for more information contact us.
To share this post easily, cut and paste: Chemists Can Tweet: #ACSDenver Twitter Analysis Shows Communication, Web 2.0 Topic Trends http://bit.ly/mUi73E

You may have seen our announcement a few months ago here about the web 2.0 application we built with New England Biolabs (NEB). We formally announced it with them today, check out the press release for more information and contact us with any questions. NEB is a fantastic company to work with and we are getting great traction on EpiExperts, please check it out and let us know what you think!

Comprendia’s analysis of the top life science company Twitter accounts was recognized by Affymetrix in this press release. We congratulate them on their success with social media and hope that our analyses and expertise will continue to facilitate increased communication between biotech companies and the researchers they serve. As part of Comprendia’s 3rd anniversary celebrations this month, we will be announcing more products, services, and awards shortly towards our goal of encouraging increased transparency and collaboration the life sciences.
To share this post easily cut and paste: Comprendia Life Science Social Media Report Recognized by Affymetrix http://bit.ly/kCeaIi

A quick post to let you know that we’ve announced our Social Media for Life Science and Biotechnology Workshop 2: The 4 B’s of First Party Applications webinar, which will take place June 9th. Also, our Facebook workshop webinar is now available for you to order and view at your convenience, along with others on our workshops and training page. As always, contact us if you have questions, and hope to ‘see’ you at a workshop soon!

To share this post easily cut and paste: Comprendia’s Social Media Workshop 2 June 9th & Facebook Webinar Available http://bit.ly/jyhqM4

There have been reports that have been coming out lately showing that multitasking, an activity often exacerbated by the internet and social media, can be less effective, shorten our attention spans and even affect our relationships. Recently I went to some conference presentations and noticed a difference in my attention span–that nagging feeling that I’m missing information, having to tell myself “you can only check your phone once every 15 minutes.” I decided to go cold turkey for a day–no internet, period. Granted, it was a Sunday, but I gained some insights relevant to life science business planning that i’d like to share.

I started at 7 p.m. Saturday, announcing to the Twitterverse that they should expect to not hear from me for 24 hours. Shortly after I signed off I realized I promised to make a dish the next morning for which I did not have the recipe…get out the old cookbooks! Lesson one was that I rediscovered the usefulness of browsing. I have about 40 cookbooks, several I have forgotten about, and I reacquainted myself with some of them and some recipes I would never have found via a Google search. When we rely on what we think we want, we limit ourselves. I actually found my first Seth Godin book in the ‘new books’ section at my local library. My point? Find ways to ‘browse’ for ideas for your life science business, whether it be books, magazines, or events where you’ll meet people with backgrounds and ideas that may differ from yours. Yes, we have too many meetings, but what about starting a few creative brainstorming meetings over lunch with pizza? Things just happen IRL (in real life) that don’t happen over email–in effect, you’re ‘browsing’ others’ ideas.

The next morning was tough, as I normally begin the day with my smart phone or computer. I was left alone with my thoughts! Lesson two is that time to gain perspective is important. From a business perspective, this is incredibly important. With marketers moving towards social media, with its daily need for content and curation, there is a tendency towards implementing tactics without having a strategy. To combat this, we suggest creating more living documents, such as a Social Media Charter, which can change more frequently than a yearly marketing plan. This way, you’ll have a plan, but be able to make changes on the more rapid scale that social media requires. Additionally, you need to allow your team time to develop and implement social media strategies–don’t just have them incorporate them into their daily tasks. Studies have shown that multitasking takes longer than doing tasks serially. We’ve provided a guide to implement social media in 10 minutes a day to help.

My next challenge came when I was driving to my friends’ new house–no GPS allowed! I found that my road map was still in my car and used it to guide me. Additionally, I discovered that I looked more carefully for landmarks and felt as though I now have more skills to find the house even if I make a wrong turn. Lesson three and parallels to life science business here? Many of us have gotten into the business side of life science because we have natural abilities and instincts in marketing, sales, or management. Today, we can get sidetracked by the many metrics available, for example website analytics, brand monitoring, and key performance indicators. Are you being driven by any of these metrics unnecessarily? Take a step back and talk to your colleagues or customers about what’s important to your business and what direction you think the business should take.

I made it (just barely) to 7 p.m. that Sunday with no internet, it actually was very refreshing. The number of emails that accumulated were minimal, and checking hourly really would have been a waste of time–I really don’t need to be so tied to it! I’ve decided to ‘unplug’ for a half day every week, and to multitask less. Many of my tasks require the internet, so going without it is tough (I can simply switch the wifi off on my laptop if needed), but I can shut off Twitter and email easily enough. I love my Moleskine journal and will continue to have it handy for jotting down notes or drafting blog posts. Off site planning meetings are also in the works for us. Time to gain perspective is rarely wasted, I suggest you do the same. I’ve also heard some companies ban smart phones from meetings. What are your ideas for unplugging?

To share this post easily, cut and paste: My 24 Hours Unplugged: What We Can Learn About Life Science Business Planning http://bit.ly/lnfPJg

Up to 95% of your life science customers are using Facebook, are you leveraging it yet? Attend our workshop webinar May 12th and you’ll receive training and the materials you need to get started quickly.

We’re very excited about our recent beta launch of a new web 2.0 resource for life science researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research Meeting (AACR) this week. Engaging Epigenetics Experts (E3) is being developed with New England Biolabs (NEB), leading provider of molecular biology solutions. We built the application using our STIR Social Media™ system to ensure that it will meet the needs of life science researchers and thus be adopted by them and grow. Epigenetics is a fast-growing, interdisciplinary field studying the way environment changes genetic information, and we created a Social Media Charter™ for NEB, working closely with them and benefiting from their knowledge of their customers and the science.

In meeting the needs of epigenetics researchers, NEB will better be better positioned in this competitive market, and they’ll also gain from getting product development feedback from the researchers. We applaud NEB for having a long-range view of these new applications, and know that they will pay off soon. Our Social Media for Life Science and Biotechnology Workshop April 14th will describe the STIR Social Media system in detail, helping you to learn how to leverage these new tools effectively.

To share this post easily cut and paste: Beta Launch of Engaging Epigenetics Experts at American Association for Cancer Research Meeting #aacr http://bit.ly/epi_lau